THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
“So, what do you plan to accomplish this year?”
This is the question I usually get – we all usually get – at the start of each year. As a matter of practice, we give canned answers. Canned answers could range from “quit smoking” and “lose weight” to “work hard to help achieve world peace”.
The fact remains that goals are important. It is important that we set goals for ourselves at the start of the year. Goals, I believe, are more important than so-called resolutions. We set goals on the basis of the opportunities that we see. Resolutions are based on weaknesses that we feel saddled with.
“Isn’t it strange that corporations and governments make their plans ahead of the coming of the New Year while most people hardly sit down to write down their own?” I once told a fellow Antipoleño during a conversation over coffee.
“How do you know what you must do?” he asked, genuinely eager to learn.
“Well, it depends on what you want to achieve – in short, it all depends on the goal or goals you set for yourself,” I answered, feeling like Stephen Covey reborn as I did.
“And how do you know what goal to set?” my fellow Antipoleño asked again.
“It depends on what you plan to satisfy,” I answered.
There are three things we are always trying to satisfy, I continued. These are our “wants”, our “needs” and our “values”.
“Wants” are the things we strive to have. For example, one might “want” a brand new sports utility vehicle this year. Our “wants” are the most easily identifiable craving we have. They are what we usually express to others and is often a powerful driver for our actions.
“Needs”, on the other hand, is the basis for our “wants”. For example, an explanation as to why we might badly “want” a brand new SUV is that we have a “need” for recognition and the esteem of others.
The problem with genuine “needs” is that they are usually hidden beneath our overpowering “wants”. What makes for better personal planning is understanding first what it is we really “need”, and then expanding the range of options available for satisfying such “need”.
For example, if our genuine “need” is the recognition and esteem of others, then a brand new sports car may not be what we really “want”. There are better – and less expensive- ways to satisfy such “need”.
Many leadership coaches and gurus caution against setting goals based on “wants”. “Wants”, they point out, can lead to obsession. Unless a “want” is truly able to satisfy our genuine “need”, then a serious disappointment awaits the individual. He may end up paying for an expensive sports car only to find out that he still feels empty after acquiring it.
The advice is for us to understand our genuine “needs” first and build a plan on the basis of such “needs”.
I know of other people who plan not on the basis of “wants” or “needs” but on the basis of “values”. “Values” are the things that are at the core of our being and which we treasure most. For example, some individuals “value” their contribution to helping make other people’s lives better. Others “value” freedom or faith.
They plan their lives on the basis of such “value”.
The three are not totally unrelated. If our “values” are clearly defined, they can influence our “needs”. If our genuine “needs” are clearly established, we can use them as the basis of what we “want” to be or “want” to have.
For example, a person who “values” his faith may have a genuine “need” to be heard by others or to have a venue where he can preach. On the basis of this “value” and “need” that same individual might “want” to become a pastor or a fulltime preacher.
As the New Year begins, I encourage our readers to take time to discover or rediscover what it is they truly treasure in life. Let those things that we value most in life define what we need. This way, our genuine needs founded on clear values can define – and rein in – our wants.
This process will give us a good basis for what we plan to do and accomplish in 2019.
Have a truly goal-oriented year ahead.
*For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to #4 Horse Shoe Drive, Beverly Hills Subdivision, Bgy. Beverly Hills, Antipolo City, Rizal.